Children, weep for humanity

Big Fat Liar - PG\nStarring: Frankie Muniz, Amanda Bynes, Paul Giamatti\nDirected by: Shawn Levy\nShowing: Showplace East 11\nWelcome to the world of Jason Shepherd (Frankie Muniz), the main character of "Big Fat Liar," where adults have a collective IQ equivalent to that of a raisin. In this regard, "BFL" might be one of the best anti-drug films to come along since Jared Leto shoved a needle into his arm. \nThis is the only fathomable excuse I can find for every person in this movie older than 14 acting like they burnt out the majority of their brain by the time they hit puberty. To be perfectly honest, we might be justified in hanging Shawn Levy and the writers of "BFL" by their own celluloid under charges of crimes against humanity. Granted, I might be exaggerating my distaste for this film slightly. I am not exaggerating when I say that at a theater filled with children and their parents, I heard one kid laugh. Once. Through the entire movie.\nShawn Levy's "Big Fat Liar" is about a kid named Jason Shepherd who takes a trip to Hollywood with his best friend, Kaylee (Amanda Bynes). Jason is planning on hunting down Marty Wolf (Paul Giamatti), a powerful movie producer and, apparently, Satan Incarnate. In a plot line too complicated to explain, Wolf stole Jason's idea for a story called "Big Fat Liar." Now, all Jason wants is for Wolf to call his father and explain to him that he stole Jason's idea. When Wolf refuses, the rest of the movie focuses on Jason and Kaylee turning Wolf's life into a series of pranks until he breaks down and calls Jason's dad.\n"Big Fat Liar," was made by guys who both write and direct for television. It stars actors and actresses based in television. In short, if you're seeing something of a theme here, it's glaringly obvious in the movie. This is something that should have been an After-School Special, and that's all.\nThe only thing "BFL" ever has going for it is Paul Giamatti. Giamatti should have been hilarious in his role. But he is crushed by the sheer stupidity that surrounds him. Even the soundtrack for this movie was ridiculously hokey. When Muniz stops to seriously soliloquize on the value of truth, you can hear violins softly serenading piano notes that tickle like tears.\nI honestly went into "Big Fat Liar" keeping in mind the audience that this movie was supposed to be geared toward. Personally, if I were part of this targeted audience, I would be offended at how completely brain-dead they must have assumed we were.\n

\n\n